20
LIFEPULSE
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16, 2009
Get onboard By Lin Shujuan
China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town and city. A Chinese train journey is an experience in itself. Here is some basic information to help you plan your train travel in China.
CHINA DAILY
A newly opened D3012 express train from Wuchang, Hubei province to Shanghai, passes the scenic Huanghelou Pavilion.
An English translation of a little book has been making travel that much easier for countless foreigners. Lin Shujuan reports
Zhou Guoqiang
HOT POT
ROHIT WADHWANEY House hunting is like gambling. Till you’re not doing it, you’re safe. You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. I recently completed a year of my life in Beijing. And after one year, I’ve just begun to feel I live in China, the land that houses the most humans in the world. The more the people, the more the poor; the more the poor, the more the ones that want to get rich; hence, the more who compete, trying to outplay your sensibilities in order to make your money theirs, trying their best to keep it “legal”. I wouldn’t call them frauds. After all, it’s not a crime, at least not yet, to post online fake pictures of an apartment you’re trying to rent out for your client. Sell the house to the tenant, who’s well aware it’s not the house in the photographs, and you get one month’s rent as commission. It’s a fair game. Picture this. I like a house. I agree to rent it the minute I see it. The landlord, a self-confessed “rich public servant”, notices my enthusiasm and raises the rent stated in the online ad by 1,000 yuan. I storm out. The agent messages me on MSN, saying she can bring the rent down if I pay her half a month’s rent. That’s when it hits me: I am in China. I better act like it. When in Rome huh! I was born in a bordering country that’s second only to China in terms of population. If I’ve played moustache-twirling agents there, I’m sure I can play the charming, soft-spoken ones out here.
Train schedules: Visit www.chinatravelguide.com for information in English Get a downloadable China train timetable in Chinese at http://www.shike.org.cn/ For Duncan Peattie’s Quick Reference timetable in English for trains running between the biggest cities (see main story), visit www.chinatt.org Find a map of Chinese railways in English at www.johomaps.com/as/ china/chinarail.html Categories of train: Chinese train numbers usually start with a letter, which indicates their speed and service. The better the speed and service, the higher the fares. C and D trains are topquality high-speed trains with ultra-modern air-conditioned coaches. Some are 200300km/h daytime electric trains, while a few D-trains are 200km/h sleeper trains. The previous top-quality sleeper train, the “Z” trains, also have very modern, airconditioned coaches. The T trains are the “extra fast” ones, while K trains are “fast”. Ticket reservation: Reservations for the best D, C or Z-category express trains open 10-20 days before departure, but reservations for other trains open just 5-10 days before departure. You cannot buy tickets before reservations open. Tickets are best booked at least 2-3 days in advance, except during for the peak periods (Spring Festival, May Day and National Day holidays) when they should be booked as soon as reservations open. Where to buy: At the station: It is easy to buy your tickets at the station, but remember to take your passport with you. In big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai you should look for the special ticket window for foreigners. But generally you can only buy a ticket for a journey starting at that station, not for journeys starting elsewhere. Through agents: There are usually many train ticket agents in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, who charge an additional 5 yuan for each ticket. Most locals should be able to put you in touch with one, or you can ask your hotel to book it for you. Some agents can also organize a home delivery of your ticket/s, at an additional charge. Reservations online: You can visit www.chinatripadv isor.com, www.chinatrainti ckets.net, www.china-trainticket.com, or www.trainticket.net, who sell train tickets for Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong. Kowloon-Guangzhou Railway Corporation (local trains in Hong Kong plus through trains HK to Beijing and Shanghai): www.mtr.com.hk.
To feel the pulse of a city, go house hunting
Right on track D
uncan Peattie from Kingston upon Thames, England, reads and speaks little Chinese. But since 2001, he has been doing a Chinese-English translation — at least once a year — of a little book that has benefited hundreds, if not thousands, of travelers from across the world. Armed with little more than the names of cities in language skills, he has been producing regularly updated English translations of the Chinese railway timetables. A railway signal testing engineer since 16, Peattie was based in Hong Kong, from 1997 to 2000, but now splits his time between Thailand, Australia and his home country, the United Kingdom. He claims to knows every rail line in China and every new improvement and addition to one of the world’s most dynamic rail systems. Based on the Chinese timetables put out by China Rail Publishing House (CRPH), Peattie’s English version isn’t merely a translation, but a recompilation that is more user-friendly especially for a foreigner who doesn’t read or speak Chinese. Peattie calls it “a labor of love”, one that he is quick to share with whoever is interested. His timetables comes in two formats — a downloadable PDF file version, which is a free, “quick reference” summary of express trains between main stations, the only trains most foreign tourists will ever take, and a complete, national timetable for sale if you are getting off the main lines as part of a more complex travel plan. The schedules are linked to the
Quail China Railway Atlas, which is also available in print, and can be invaluable in finding connections along various routes. The timetable’s sixth edition (based on the April 2009 Chinese timetable and including major changes over the past year) is out, and now routinely referenced by various guidebooks and websites. But some still wonder why anyone would go to the great lengths that Peattie does to produce a timetable. “Some have called it an obsession, but surely it’s a harmless one,” says Peattie, by phone from Australia. He adds that his fascination with trains goes back to when he was 3. “You know, mothers usually take their children to see art or enjoy music or experiment with science, to help discover their interest and potential as early as possible,” says Peattie. “This is what my mother did after running out of options — she took me to the train station near our house.” The year was 1959. Both mother and son would stand mesmerized as the steam trains puffed in and out of the station amid the glittering signals. As an assistant to his electrician father since his early childhood, Peattie also developed a strong interest in electricity. That led naturally to his becoming a rail signaling test engineer. He worked for British Rail for nearly 20 years before moving overseas for work, mostly in Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong. One thing he loves about working for the railways, Peattie says, is that he used to get three train tickets for free each year when he was back in UK. “I used every single ticket I got
Riding a train in a foreign country is often quite a journey in itself. It’s also much safer and reliable when compared to travel by air or car. DUNCAN PEATTIE
Railway signal testing engineer
because I love traveling, especially by train,” he says. “Traveling by train means you don’t have to worry about driving and traffic as you do when you travel by car, and can enjoy the beautiful scenery outside. Riding a train in a foreign country is often quite a journey in itself. It’s also much safer and reliable when compared to travel by air or car.” When he landed in Hong Kong in 1997, he got on the through train between Hong Kong and Shanghai as soon as it was introduced, embarking on the first of many explorations of the country by train. “I was very excited to see a food trolley pulled along the platform selling drinks and snacks. I’d never seen services like this before,” recalls Peattie. He still remembers the delicious eggs boiled with tea and soy sauce he bought then. “What a good choice of snack for a train traveler!” When he arrived in Shanghai, he wanted to continue his explorations and started to look for timetable information. There was a lot, but all in Chinese. “I decided to make my own timetable even though it took a long
time. My Chinese language skills were zero, and are still not good, but I have developed the ability to read place names.” The first complete edition was ready in April 2001. “Having completed it I realized that it was a bit silly to keep it to myself, so I turned it into something fit for publication,” he says. Peattie says he usually sells a few hundred copies for each complete edition of 176 pages, which is currently priced at $20. But, he adds, profit has never been the purpose of his project. “I share the view of CRPH that there isn’t a commercial market for a detailed English language Chinese railway timetable. However, there is a significant demand for such information.” While rail services in China have improved significantly in the past decade, “not many people know much about these. I believe if they knew, they would like to travel by train”, says Peattie. Peattie says he is looking forward to his next China trip next year. “Since my last trip to China in 2007, many new lines have been added. “I can’t wait (to experience them).”
Neighbors brought together By Lin Shujuan
For residents of Wenzhou, a city in East China’s Zhejiang province with the highest number of overseas Chinese, discussions about the hottest holiday trip at the moment is not about a romantic sojourn through Europe or a relaxing stay at a tropical island, but a weekend trip to cities in neighboring Fujian province, like Fuzhou. Despite their well-known desire to explore the world outside their hometown, few Wenzhou residents have visited Fuzhou, although they may have traveled to Europe, Africa or Australia. Separated by walls of high mountains, residents of the two cities have long lived like they belong to two different continents, despite their geographical proximity. Travel by air was too costly, by bus too tedious and by train, too long. As a Fujian native, I remember that it took me nearly 14 hours in 1997 to go from my hometown to Zheijiang by the fastest train. But a newly opened express railway line has shortened the travel time between Fuzhou and Wenzhou to just 90 minutes.
I chanced on this information by sheer luck. I was visiting Wenzhou two weeks ago for an interview. When I mentioned my hometown, people responded excitedly saying, “then you might as well go visit your hometown. It is now just 90 minutes away by train!” While overjoyed to hear this, I could not shake off a lingering doubt. My last memory of train travel in China was a tedious, long, crowded and sleepless 27-hour journey in a stuffy compartment from Shanghai to Xiamen, on the fastest train available between the two cities in 1997. While I had heard much about the continuous upgrading of the country’s nationwide railway system, I didn’t have the desire or interest to check it out until that day in Wenzhou. Ultimately, the temptation of being able to see my parents was too much to resist. The journey has completely altered my perception of train travel. My ears throbbed with the changes in air pressure as the train raced through one tunnel after another. But in general, the train was clean and comfortable and the service, good. I set out at
New express railway lines have shortened the travel time between places that people used to find tedious and long. Chen Li
about 7 pm and by 8:30 pm, I was with my childhood classmate, waiting at the station at Fuzhou. Her mother was more eager to hear about my trip. With three children settled in three different cities, namely Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen, her delight at the possibility of visiting any of them after an hour-long train trip, was palpable. When I mentioned my past memories of train travel, she brushed me off impatiently. “Don’t even mention it, that experience belongs to the last century.”
Pang Li
So, I contact another agent from the previous agent’s office, promise to give her half a month’s rent in commission if she gets me the same house for the same rent advertised in the ad. Not 1,000 yuan more. Not even 10 yuan more. Bang on! I play a bluff and it works. The landlord agrees. Obviously, because he now only pays half the month’s rent as commission to the agent. I pay the other half. The agent doesn’t care where the commission comes from as long as it comes. Meanwhile, I contact another agent to find me an apartment. I’m still playing fair. It’s well within my legal rights to do so. Let me assure you, all of this is happening within a matter of hours. If I want the house for which the landlord has agreed to “bring the rent down”, I must sign a one-year tenancy contract “immediately”. I find an apartment two blocks away from the complex I fell in love with at first sight. The landlord is a company that builds residential apartments and then rents them out. They agree to exchange a crappy TV for a plasma on condition that I pay 200 yuan extra every month. Technically, I rent the near 6,000-yuan plasma for 2,400 yuan a year. I’ll lay it down for you: 5,700 yuan a month for a massive apartment of 140 sq m. I have a flat-screen television with satellite cable, a restaurant/bar on the 21st floor, a heated swimming pool on the fifth and two really angry agents who’ve given me more than 100 missed calls in the past week (obviously, the previous landlord and his real estate agency aren’t finding the right tenant to dupe). What’s the one thing I know about China a year after being here? It’s true you can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle… but you can’t win much either. In China, sometimes, the pot is a stack of honesty. To comment or contribute, e-mail hotpot@chinadaily.com.cn